House Van Wassenhove is a house designed by architect Juliaan Lampens and was built between 1972 and 1974. Bachelor Albert Van Wassenhove, a teacher with a passion for contemporary art and architecture commissioned the house. Juliaan Lampens designed exclusively for Albert Van Wassenhove a house of concrete, wood and glass in which all living areas overlap: no separate rooms, but one open space. The warmth of the wood and the ever-changing play of incident light shatter the massiveness of the concrete. Basic geometric shapes structure the interior: the sleeping area is a circle, the kitchen a triangle and the office space is a square. But the house is more than just a game of shapes and lines as it manages to redefine our experience of living.

After the death of Albert Van Wassenhove in 2012 the house was bequeathed to the University of Ghent, who in turn gave it on a long-term loan to the museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Deurle. The house was renovated in 2015 thanks to the support of Philippe and Miene Gillion.

About Juliaan Lampens

Juliaan Lampens (1926) was mainly active in East Flanders. In the early years of his career he drew more traditional designs, but after the Brussels Expo58 his ideals changed decisively. From then onwards he developed totally new architectural ideas and with the design of his own home he resolutely disconnected from the architectural forms of the past.

He focused on concrete architecture and developed a very personal style. His new approach to building and living linked Lampens to the architecture of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, but there are also similarities with Japanese and Scandinavian architecture. Juliaan Lampens also designed several pieces of furniture, including his iconic stool. House Van Wassenhove, together with the Chapel of Kerselare (Oudenaarde, 1966) and House Vandenhaute - Kiebooms (Zingem, 1967), are considered to be his absolute masterpieces. In 2014, the prominent Japanese architecture magazine A+U published a special edition on Juliaan Lampens. It shows the increasing international interest in his work.